2/13/2016

February 13th is Purple Hijab Day

Purple Hijab Day is an international day of raising awareness against domestic violence. It is founded in the Muslim community, in memory of Aasiya Zubair, who was murdered by her husband. You show your support for the cause by wearing a purple hijab, scarf, tie, hat - or whatever is at hand!

While it is by no means meant to be only a Muslim event, a very important focus of Purple Hijab, is to go against the prevailing stereotypical idea, that the Koran somehow allows violence against women, and that all Muslim men are misogynists or anti-feminist. In Denmark where I live, the demonisation of Muslims gets worse by the day in our media, and I find that extremely worrying. This is why I love it when things like this, helps us a few steps back on the right track. Or at least a better track.

I hope that lots of people will put on something purple today as a gesture towards more understanding between our different faiths, much more respect between the sexes - and in hoping that the generations to come won't have to celebrate it at all - or perhaps will do so, only to remember Aasiya's story and because it looks great. As in the image above, where a woman in Ethiopia have not only donned her purple hijab, but also painted her doorway purple. The image (the photographer is not credited, too bad - it's a fantastic picture) is from this article.

There are also countless pages about Purple Hijab on Facebook, go check it out if you are curious about local events or activities.